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All posts for the day January 10th, 2009

Taking the case of a contagious disease, ‘Private Practice’ will present a father’s dilemma when his little girl is so sick that he can’t touch her.

“Private Practice” will present a heartbreaking episode on January 15 where a father cannot touch his little daughter for fear of contamination. Also in the episode called “Homeward Bound”, Addison and Kevin struggle in their relationship, but she finds herself attracted to Wyatt, the cocky doctor from rival Pacific Wellcare.

On other development, Cooper grows closer to Charlotte when she experiences a family emergency, and Violet seeks a way to carry on relationships with both Pete and Sheldon. In a future episode synopsis of the show, it is revealed that Violet will be with a child but she is not sure of who the baby daddy is. Also, when Cooper encourages Violet to talk to Pete and Sheldon about her pregnancy, she’s reluctant when she learns that neither of them wants children. — Ace Showbiz

Exclusive: Private Practice Taps into Buffyverse Once Again

Amber Benson

First, there was Amy Acker (aka Angel‘s “Fred”). She guest-starred on Private Practice‘s Season 2 premiere (and next can be seen on Fox’s upcoming Dollhouse).

Who will be the next former denizen of the Buffyverse to make an appointment with the doctors of Oceanside Wellness? It’s Amber Benson, I can tell you exclusively.

What brings Buffy‘s Tara to Addison’s work digs? Sources tell me she’ll be playing a young woman who in the aftermath of being brutally attacked seeks not just medical care … but perhaps something more.

Benson appears in this season’s 18th episode, which is tentatively slated for mid-March. Private Practice, of course, now airs Thursdays at 10, leading out of Grey’s Anatomy.

This week on Ghost Whisperer, Melinda continues to pine away for Jim, squatting in another’s body and living in the garage, and Delia the Semi-Believer gets her own storyline, uh, I mean, haunting.

If you’ve forgotten, Delia is a realtor. She has a new listing – a gigantic house abandoned by the owners, the Bancrofts, who’ve recently separated. Not only that, but they left everything behind and bailed. Delia and Ned are trying to get the house ready for showing by taking down family photos and mowing the lawn. Out in the garage, Ned finds a very dusty riding lawnmower, and the ghost of a young boy with a bloody arm finds him. Minutes later, we flash to a 911 dispatcher taking a call from the same address. The caller is desperate for an ambulance. Turns out to be a ghostly call; Ned is fine. Melinda and Delia show up with the ambulance. Melinda sees the young boy and remarks that it wasn’t a prank phone call. Someone did need an ambulance, but they arrived too late.

Melinda identifies the ghost from the Bancrofts’ family photos as the youngest son, Josh. He died after being run over by the lawnmower two years ago. Melinda thinks Josh called 911 himself, but Delia wants Melinda to do what she does so well and make contact before the upcoming open house.

Meanwhile, Melinda is becoming more and more obsessed with Jim and his quest for finding his missing fiancee-to-be. He, however, has decided to not pursue it after discussing it with his sister. He’s found out that he and Nicole (that’s her name!) had an on-again-off-again eight-year rollercoaster. He’s not too hot on contacting her. At least for now.

Later, Delia tells Melinda she’s asked around, and found out that Josh’s father was the driver of the lawnmower. While they’re taking, the cops show up again, reporting of yet another 911 call. Josh appears, and Melinda follows him to the garage. He’s angry, but he’s not going to move on. He says that his family might be running away, but they can’t escape. Emo ghost boy!

Melinda thinks that Josh wants his family to come home, together, but Delia says the lawyer can’t even get the Bancrofts in the same room. No worries, though. Melinda wraps up a vase from the house and drives to see Mrs. Bancroft, Alana. She refuses the vase, says that she doesn’t want anything from the house, and that she needs a change. Sensing her in, Melinda shares her loss of Jim, and they start talking about how to get through their grief. Melinda asks if she feels Josh is with her, but she says he’ll always be in her heart. She says she tried not to blame her husband, but she couldn’t. She blames him 100%.

Meanwhile, Ned runs into Jim at the cafe. Jim is trying to log into his old email, and Ned gets into it for him. He finds an email he sent to Nicole that said “I know you’re mad. This time is different. I bought the ring. I’m ready. I love you.”

Melinda gives Delia the update, and during their conversation, Doug shows up at the house. He’s not so angry. During his visit, Josh shows up. Doug says that he can still feel Josh around him. Melinda asks if there’s anything Doug would say if he could talk to Josh. Doug said that Josh really wanted to try the riding mower, and he let him try just that once. It resulted in his death. Doug says he would do anything to take it back, and Josh replies “liar.”

Just then the phone rings. It’s the 911 call, playing over and over again. Doug says that he’s been getting them too, and Melinda tells Josh that he’s hurting his father. Josh replies that Doug knows why. Doug, even more upset, demands to know what’s going on, and pulls the phone out of the wall. Melinda heads outside and calls the cops to let them know it’s a false alarm, and they tell her they’re on their way anyway. A neighbor has reported that a message has shown up on their front lawn: HELP ME burned into the grass.

Over Chinese food later with Eli, Delia and Melinda discuss the issues at hand. They figure out that Josh isn’t haunting his mother, just his father. They try and figure out what “Help Me” might really mean. Melinda goes down to the station and gets a friend to play her the whole 911 call. However, there turns out to be a first call – the one that keeps playing over and over was actually the second call placed. The first is Doug yelling “no no no!” over and over.

Delia, though, is still trying to get the house sold, and she needs to get something from inside that evening. However, it’s now dark and stormy, and the front window is broken. While on the phone with Melinda, she lets herself into the house, and finds that the electricity is off. Delia sees a figure in the window, but doesn’t retreat. With Melinda on the phone listening, the figure storms at Delia. It turns out to be someone actually inside the house. Delia follows the man, and finds out that it’s Devin, the Bancrofts eldest son. He runs from her, but gets caught by the cops before he can escape. At the station, Delia and Melinda find Doug bailing Devin out. Doug is cool as a cucumber, but Devin is tense, and doesn’t speak. Then Josh appears. Melinda wants to know what prompted Devin’s visit, and says that Josh must have sent the call to Devin as well. Doug moves Devin on before he can respond to Melinda, and Josh says that this is how is always happened. Doug always made everything go away.

Meanwhile, Eli and Jim are discussing the email proposal to Nicole. Jim is wondering why she didn’t reply in any way. Eli says that he’s decided not to check his voicemail, though, on purpose, because if Nicole said yes, he’s now engaged to someone he doesn’t know, and if she said no, he’s been rejected by the only person who can help him. Deep, Dr. Eli. Jim gets his voicemail reset.

The next day, Melinda is playing the two 911 calls for Eli, when Delia runs in with the news that Devin’s backpack was full of weed killer. He was responsible for the lawn art. Melinda plays the first 911 call again, and realizes that on it, Doug’s voice gets louder, as though he’s running towards the phone. She figures out that Devin must have made that call, not Doug.

We flash to Devin, who is watching videos of Josh on his phone while standing on the roof of the Bancroft house. Jim shows up just moments before Devin jumps. Jim taps into his paramedic knowledge, weirding Melinda out, and saves his life. Jim (Sam) can’t remember how he knows what he knows, but Melinda probes him, and tries to get him to get more.

At Devin’s hospital bedside, Alana and Doug get a visit from Melinda, who comes with information from Josh. He’s been waiting to see them all together. He wants his family to talk to each other. He doesn’t like the fact that the family has fallen apart over a lie. Turns out it was Devin that killed Josh. Doug wasn’t even around the mower when Josh died. Doug took the blame to save Alana the pain of the situation. With the truth out, the Bancrofts reunite, and Josh crosses over.

In the end, Delia sells the Bancroft house. Melinda gets Jim to talk more about his past, but instead of doing the past-life regression that Melinda wants, Jim is heading out of town to find Nicole. He asks Melinda to wish him luck, but she only smiles as he drives away.

Preview of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ 5.12: Sympathy for the Devil

A serial killer wants to do a good deed while he is sick but Derek thinks the other way, all new in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.

In the next “Grey’s Anatomy” episode, “Sympathy for the Devil”, Seattle Grace Hospital will open up for a death row inmate named William (guest star Eric Stoltz) who creates a rift among Meredith, Derek and Christina. While Meredith thinks that the patient is still “human” after all, Derek puts his prejudice for the man who has taken others’ lives when he decides to donate his organ to Bailey and Arizona’s young patient.

Speaking about how much his character will affect the situation at the hospital, Stoltz spoke to TV Guide, “When someone on death row is brought to a hospital, doctors are confronted with their own ethical code. ‘Is it right to save the life of someone who has done so much bad in the world?’ ‘What is a doctor’s job and how should one respond to this situation?’ It presents a lot of interesting, rich things for all these talented actors to play with.” He added that he will create quite a stir in MerDer’s relationship.

Meanwhile, Derek’s Mother Carolyn comes in town and makes a surprise visit to the hospital to meet Meredith for the first time. Also, Mark tries to conceal his relationship with Lexie from her as well while Owen and Cristina try to go on their first date. “Sympathy for the Devil” will air January 15 on ABC.

Grey’s Anatomy Preview: Eric Stoltz Discusses His Killer Role

When Grey’s Anatomy resumes its season this Thursday at 9 pm/ET, Seattle Grace’s finest will get a collective case of the heebie-jeebies when a death row inmate is admitted with critical injuries. Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction), who occasionally directs for ABC’s hit medical drama, steps in front of the camera for the next three episodes to play the enigmatic serial killer. Stoltz gave us a look at the doctor-dividing dilemmas to come.

TVGuide.com: There’s a bit of a disconnect between “Eric Stoltz” and “serial killer.” One, are you glad there’s that disconnect? And two, do you think it helps you bring something different to the role?Eric Stoltz: [Laughs] Yes, I am happy that I really don’t have much in common with killers. Absolutely. But, that being said, it’s always bracing to explore what I might actually have in common with them underneath at all. Throughout the course of the day, I do have impulses to lash out at someone or to ram the car that took my parking space or yell at the cab that splashed water on me. But because I’m living in society and want to be a good person, I don’t let those impulses out.

TVGuide.com: Is your character, William, remorseful at all?Stoltz: You think he might have some remorse, but he could also be playing at having remorse, in order to get what he wants. Sociopaths tend to be pretty good actors. Nobody had any idea what Ted Bundy was up to for a long time.

TVGuide.com: To be clear, this story arc isn’t about whether William could get loose and go on a rampage in the hospital, but to what lengths the doctors should go to save his life, right?Stoltz: Either of those [stories] could come to be. You never know, it’s [Grey’s creator] Shonda Rhimes!

TVGuide.com: Does William’s case present divisive moral and ethical dilemmas for the doctors?Stoltz: Absolutely. When someone on death row is brought to a hospital, doctors are confronted with their own ethical code. “Is it right to save the life of someone who has done so much bad in the world?” “What is a doctor’s job and how should one respond to this situation?” It presents a lot of interesting, rich things for all these talented actors to play with.

TVGuide.com: Particularly toward the end of your arc, you have a lot of scenes with Ellen Pompeo. Does William create any sort of drama for Meredith and/or her relationship with Derek?Stoltz: Yes, I certainly insinuate myself into their relationship and am the source of not a little strife.

TVGuide.com: Is he a charmer despite his “shortcomings”?Stoltz: I would like to think so!

TVGuide.com: Of course you would. What was it like becoming a part of the very Grey’s cast you raved about the last time we spoke?Stoltz: It was a joy. They didn’t hesitate to knock me down a few pegs and remind me that I am no longer directing them.

TVGuide.com: Will there be any sort of body count during your three-episode run?Stoltz: Uh, possibly!

TVGuide.com: OK, give us one last super-vague tease that won’t make Shonda angry.Stoltz: [Laughs] I’ve probably already said too much.

In the wake of Ignacio’s heart attack, Betty rubs it off with Hilda who complains of Betty’s absence during the sad time, all new on ‘Ugly Betty’.

The next “Ugly Betty” episode title “Sisters on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” literally speaks for itself. Betty who is torn between her professional work and personal life, experiences a jolt of life when Ignacio suffered a heart attack and she was not there. Hilda then confronts her about the fact that she was the only one who held their father’s hand during the tragedy.

Still, while her father is in the hospital, Betty is occupied with her job after she cost Mode a business deal. Meanwhile, “secret” couples Daniel & Molly and Connor & Wilhelmina try to hide their escalating love connections. The episode will air January 15 on ABC.

It was reported back in December that a new character will be brought in. A nurse played by “Dexter” star Lauren Velez, will have a storyline that involves the death of a major character. —